Blah

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I can’t lie, I have the blahs. Its not me, it’s the weather. I am allergic to the cold, and not just physically either. It always affects my mental status, so I guess it’s a good thing I live in a place where it is short lived.
Evidence of my state of blah is everywhere, including right here. Its not that I haven’t had time to blog, its just that I haven’t had any inclination to. No shortage of material either. We had a great day off on Friday, with a great crawfish boil, hosted by great friends. A productive Saturday where I finished my cascarones, and had a date night. And even a great Easter, with an indoor cascarone fiasco, that wont soon be forgotten by James and Brandy (mainly because of the immense amount of confetti in their houses). I just haven’t felt like doing anything but the bare minimum. I completely blame it on the weather. I thought spring had sprung, but nooooo, it was a tease. Even my jasmine began to bloom before being scared back into the buds by a blast of cold weather chilly for January, much less April on the Half Street.
With all of this in mind I bring you a story that would snap you out of even the deepest weather induced funk. Well, I don’t really bring it so much as Gene Weingarten of the Washington Post does. Apparently it was on the cover of the Washington Post Magazine this weekend (the fact that I have to read it online is almost depressing enough to cause another funk-but I digress). The premise is this: if a world renowned musician was playing in front of you, would you know it? Would you care? Would you stop 3 seconds to absorb the sound, or would you just walk on, oblivious of the talent that was surrounding you?
I love this story for so many reasons. I love that the best violinist in the world was nervous before playing at a METRO station. I love that the guy who gave him 3 bucks later joked he should feel free to put it toward the price of the Stradivarius. I love that the one girl that recognized him, parked herself DIRECTLY in front of him and STILL no one noticed! And lastly I love that they point out that kids always wanted to stop to listen. Its not that I think they recognized the level of the performance that was taking place, its just that they still had time to be interested in it. They are blissfully unaware of cold weather blahs.
I like to believe I would have stopped. I think those that know me would confirm this. After all, this is the girl that turns off the radio and rolls down the windows to hear the occasional street musician that plays on this random corner by my house. Random because its not really a well traveled area or very centralized and has very little foot traffic which leads me to believe he's not in for the panhandling. But then again, maybe he just doesn't understand the finer points of life as street sax player. Who am I to judge. I know me on my way to work. It's not out of the question that, in the case of the DC "street musician" I wouldn't even hear the music, much less have the presence of mind to notice that the music was uhhhhhhhh, shall we say above average? But all of this is irrelevant. The point is this: Now that you've read it, there is no excuse. Stop. Listen. Don't rush by. Work can wait, that guy could be worth listening to.

PS-Resist the temptation to read the transcript of the online discussion that took place regarding the article-as it ruins the spirit of the experiment. Some people in this world, especially it seems washingtonpost.com readers, take themselves entirely too seriously. To be offended by such an interesting, HARMLESS, experiment is surely a sign that you are wound too tight.